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US recommends Americans reconsider traveling to China due to arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. is recommending Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions. No specific cases were cited, but the advisory comes after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.It also follows the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China interests. China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics. “The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the U.S. advisory said. “U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular ser...

An explosion in a downtown Tokyo building has injured four people, according to media reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An explosion at a building in Tokyo’s commercial district of Shimbashi on Monday shattered windows and spewed smoke, according to media reports.Police were investigating the site after receiving an emergency call, Kyodo news reported.NHK television, quoting fire department officials, said four people were injured. No other information, including the cause, was yet available.The Associated Press

Daily horoscope for July 3, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Capricorn.Happy Birthday for Monday, July 3, 2023:You are rational, observant and curious about the world around you. Personally, you want to make the world a better place. You know how to charm. This is a powerful year for you. Expect recognition for your efforts. You might receive a promotion, a raise, an award — definitely acknowledgement.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Today you might have to do a juggling act to keep everyone happy. This Full Moon might make you feel caught between the demands of home and family versus the demands of your professional life or your public reputation. Today you cannot ignore home and family. Tonight: Surprise!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Pay attention to everything you say and do, because this is a mildly accident-prone day for your sign due to the Full Moon energy taking place today. An accident does not have to take place; however, you might be distr...

Greece migrant tragedy: Survivor accounts say coastguard towing attempt precipitated disaster

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

Survivors of a boat disaster that likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water.Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to capsize in the early hours of 14 June.A disastrous coastguard towing attempt was recounted in six of the nine statements from survivors submitted to Greek judicial officials investigating the causes of the tragedy.One Syrian survivor said he and other migrants on board the Adriana, which had broken down en route to Italy, screamed "Stop!" after a Greek coastguard vessel attached a rope to the bow of the trawler and began to pull it while picking up speed.The migrant boat tilted left and right and then it turned upside...

Dear Abby: My husband does whatever he wants and lies all the time. Should I stay?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My husband lies to me all the time. It could be about spending money or something as small as forgetting to start the dishwasher.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I’m mortified that my husband hung a Green Book by our phone Advice | Dear Abby: I just found out what happens at home when I’m on the night shift Advice | Dear Abby: I can’t even play with cats correctly Advice | Dear Abby: I prevailed in the dispute but it split our friend group Advice | Dear Abby: I’m sure his wife saw his inappropriate behavior with me He nearly went too far with a woman at his work. I finally spoke up because I felt it was an emotional affair. His response? “Well, you and I weren’t getting along, so I didn’t see anything wrong with it.”He doesn’t seem to be sorry for anything he does. He says the word “sorry” a lot, but there is no remorse. He a...

Sale closed in Danville: $2.8 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

50 Country Hills Court – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the first block of Country Hills Court in Danville has new owners. The 3,687-square-foot property, built in 1990, was sold on June 9, 2023, for $2,762,000, or $749 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an attached garage, as well as a pool in the backyard and two parking spaces. The unit sits on a 0.3-acre lot.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:A 2,854-square-foot home on the first block of Northview Court in Danville sold in April 2023, for $2,650,000, a price per square foot of $929. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Chadbourne Court, Danville, in October 2022, a 3,102-square-foot home was sold for $1,830,000, a price per square foot of $590. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In July 2022, a 2,896-square-foot home on Windsor Court in Danville sold for $2,050,000, a price per square foot of $708. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 ba...

Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Venus Williams and Coco Gauff get Wimbledon started on Day 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Wimbledon gets started on Monday with some of the biggest names in tennis in action, including Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Venus Williams and Coco Gauff.It is the year’s third major tournament — and Djokovic won the first two: the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That puts him halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. He came close to the feat in 2021, falling just one victory short when he lost in the final of the U.S. Open.He seeks a fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and eighth overall, which both would tie records for men.Djokovic’s title at Roland Garros was his 23rd at a Slam event, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the men’s mark in that category.As the reigning men’s champion at Wimbledon, Djokovic is scheduled to play the opening match at Centre Court on Day 1, facing Pedro Cachin of Argentina.They’ll be followed in the main stadium by Willia...

French rioting appears to slow on 6th night after teen’s death in Paris suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow on its sixth night, but still public buildings, cars and municipal trash cans were targeted nationwide by fires and vandalism overnight into Monday.In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, out of a total of 3,354 arrests in all since June 27, and two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage.Around 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fuelled by anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighborhoods. Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday, was of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.Across France, 297 vehicles were torched overnight along with 34 buildings. A 24-year-old firefighter died of a heart attack while responding to a blaze in an underground garage that spread to the apartment building above, according to...

EU-Mercosur trade deal threatens Indigenous lands, activist says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

A planned free trade deal between the European Union and South American bloc Mercosur risks increasing demand for farm produce from Brazil at the expense of Indigenous people's land and rights, a leading activist said on Thursday (29 June)."We are against this agreement," Dinamam Tuxa, the coordinator of Brazil's largest umbrella Indigenous organization, the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) said."It may be very difficult to stop but we want to make our proposals on prior consent and territorial rights of Indigenous people."The European Commission struck a trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay in 2019. Now the Commission and some EU member states have raised the possibility of reviving it after it was put on hold largely because of EU concerns over Amazon deforestation.Tuxa, who will meet EU officials and lawmakers over the coming days, said the deal, even with a possible annex on deforestation and sustainable development, did...

Miss Manners: My husband bristles when my eyes stray to his tablet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:08 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband grew up in a home where reading over someone’s shoulder was considered rude and caused bristling and umbrage.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I was dinged on my job review, and I think it was for my bathroom bluntness Advice | Miss Manners: I want to ditch a wedding planner who is proposing horrifying activities Advice | Miss Manners: I thought it was inappropriate for her to skip the funeral and show up for the food Advice | Miss Manners: I told the subway rider he was rude, and he got huffy Advice | Miss Manners: Why do they ask such questions about my groceries? I did not grow up with the same rule, but I can easily refrain from reading over his shoulder when the media involved is printing.My problem occurs when we’re on the couch watching television together and he’s reading on his tablet. To my eyes and brain, there are two screens available, gra...